The word rune roughly translates as mystery. The reason you don’t hear about rune magick much is it doesn’t provide concrete projects for people to do. It is not related to specific rituals or practices.

I intend to cover a number of runes under this topic. This one is berkana, and it is a good place to start as it is a rune of the force of beginnings.

If it looks like the letter b, that is not a coincidence. It’s where we got the letter from, and it is symbolically linked to the birch tree. The behaviour of the birch tree is perhaps the best rune for the symbolism of this rune.

Interesting, so some of our letters aren’t Roman.Indeed. Some are only pseudo-Roman, and some have very little link at all.

Birch is the spirit behind this rune, and in the community of our mother nature, birch is what even science calls a “pioneer species.” It’s often the first tree to arise after a forest fire or other devastation, and it is one of the first to show its leaves with the coming of spring. The rune is a feminine symbol, and thus also linked to the moon and the mystery of motherhood. Even the prototype sound “baba” is often linked to females, mothers and motherhood, even across cultures.

It makes sense that it is for beginnings and motherhood. Indeed.

We are discussing the first of a new series on rune magick. The rune is berkana, linked to the birch tree, the moon, women and motherhood. It’s the rune of beginnings, and if it looks like our letter b, that’s natural. It’s the source of our letter.